A lonely business…reflections on well-being and the morale of dental teams

Abstract

With the evolution of humanising patient-dentist interaction within healthcare has come an equal need to humanise staff interaction in order to optimise patient care. There is growing evidence to support the need to invest in enhancing team morale, given that its impact, when low, results in reduced quality of patient care. This paper endeavours to reflect on dental teams' wellbeing and morale and propose a strategy for change to enhance these aspects of team interactions. The theme throughout is to focus on staff wellbeing, in order to initiate a change in work ethic which should in turn initiate a positive work environment. The two strategies discussed are leadership changes conducive to a servant leadership style and a mentorship/buddy programme focusing on reducing stress among dental professionals. Both strategies have their merits and faults, but the purpose of the paper is to prompt food for thought as to how to raise team morale in dental practice. With the evolution of humanising patient-dentist interaction within healthcare has come an equal need to humanise staff interaction in order to optimise patient care. There is growing evidence to support the need to invest in enhancing team morale, given that its impact, when low, results in reduced quality of patient care. This paper endeavours to reflect on dental teams' wellbeing and morale and propose a strategy for change to enhance these aspects of team interactions. The theme throughout is to focus on staff wellbeing, in order to initiate a change in work ethic which should in turn initiate a positive work environment. The two strategies discussed are leadership changes conducive to a servant leadership style and a mentorship/buddy programme focusing on reducing stress among dental professionals. Both strategies have their merits and faults, but the purpose of the paper is to prompt food for thought as to how to raise team morale in dental practice.